Field
The described embodiments relate to techniques for associating electronic devices. In particular, the described embodiments relate to techniques for associating an electronic device with electronic devices at increasing distances based on a duration the electronic device is at a fixed location.
Related Art
The capabilities of many portable electronic devices continue to increase. For example, while additional functionality is usually included in new models of portable electronic devices (such as cellular telephones), often the additional functionality is included in new versions of an operating system that is executed by the portable electronic devices. In principle, such software updates allow the capabilities of a portable electronic device to be routinely increased over its operating life.
However, the new versions of the operating system typically consume additional resources in the portable electronic devices. For example, a new version of the operating system may require more memory and processor computational capability. Therefore, the new version of the operating system may increase power consumption and, thus, may reduce battery life. Consequently, software updates often cause users to consider older models of portable electronic devices obsolete, which can lead users to replace them with newer models.
While the users may consider the older models of the portable electronic devices as unsuitable for their original intended purpose, many users do not discard the older models of the portable electronic devices. However, because the resources in the older models of the portable electronic devices are often unable to support the latest versions of the operating system, their remaining capabilities are typically unused, which constitutes a significant waste and an opportunity cost for the users.
Hence, there is a need for a technique that addresses the above-described problems.